1. School Discipline and Attendance (SDA): Calculating Attendance Data for Online Schools

2. Agenda SDA Collection Basics Attendance Data File – In Detail
Reporting Attendance Data for Online Schools
Additional Resources

3. SDA Collection Basics

4. Why is data required?
(3)(c): The information shall be consistent for each type of report and, at a minimum, shall include the occurrence of each of the following types of incidents, expressed as a number and as a percentage of the total occurrences of all of the incidents
(2)(b)(IV) The number of conduct and discipline code violations…only in the most serious category that is applicable to that violation including to specific information on the number of and the action taken with respect to the following types of incidents

5. CDE Uses of Data School View Data Center –
all data is published by school for the public to review
Provided to the U.S. Department of Education
Provided for various data requests – media, researchers, legislatures and advocates

6. 2016-17 Timeline Date Event May 3rd (Wednesday) Collection Opens
May 9th (Tuesday)
Webinar Training
May 15th (Monday)
May 23rd (Tuesday)
Attendance Webinar Training
June 22nd (Friday)
Suggested Date for having No Reportable Incidents tab updated
June 9th (Friday)
Suggested Date for having at least 1 file uploaded
June 16th (Friday)
Suggested Date for having all files uploaded
June 23rd (Friday)
Suggested Date for having all files error free
June 30th (Friday)
Suggested Date to have SDA data finalized
July 12th (Wednesday)
Deadline for SDA to be finalized

7. Identity Management Roles
To have access to the SDA periodic collection, one of the following 3 roles would need to be assigned to you by your Local Access Manager:
If you plan to ‘do it all’ – you will want the SDA~LEA Approver Role
IdM Role
Enables User to:
SDA~LEAAPPROVER
Finalize, Submit, Modify and View Data
SDA~LEAUSER
Submit, Modify and View Data
SDA~LEAVIEWER
View Data

8. Summary of the 4 SDA Files:
Discipline by Action file
Count of INCIDENTS (Behaviors) per school
Reported by Behavior and Action Taken
1 record per school per behavior type
Discipline by Student Demographic
Count of STUDENTS
Reported by action taken and demographics of the students’ disciplined
1 record per school and student demographic type
Firearm (GFSA) Discipline
Count of Firearm Possessions per school
Reported by action taken for each firearm possession
Attendance Data
Reported by Student Demographic and School

9. Attendance Data File – In Detail

10. Attendance Data File
First, Data is categorized and reported by Student Demographic information:
Ethnicity/Race
Gender
IDEA/Special Education
Section 504 Status
ELL Status
Homeless
Attendance
Attendance Data

11. Attendance Data
Second, each subgroup of students would have reported the following:
Total Days Attended
Total Days Excused
Total Days Unexcused
Total Days Possible Attendance
Number of students habitually truant four or more days in a month
Number of students habitually truant ten or more days in a school year
Number of students habitually truant for both conditions listed above
Number of Students with Chronic Absenteeism
Attendance

12. Attendance Data File: Relationship Equation
Student Total Days Attended
Student Total Days Excused Absent
Student Total Days Unexcused Absent
Student Total Days Possible
Decimal point is implied for all of these values.
Example: Student Total Days Attended reported as 5005 is reflected as days.
Attendance

13. Habitually Truant Definition
(3)(I): A child who has attained the age of six years on or before August 1 of the year in question and is under the age of seventeen years and who has four unexcused absences from public school in any one month or ten unexcused absences from public school during any school year. Absences due to suspension or expulsion of a child are considered excused absences for purposes of this subsection.
Attendance

14. Habitually Truant Counts
3 fields capture this required data:
Truancy: Four or more days in any one calendar month
Truancy: Ten or more days in one school year
Truancy: Met both conditions
Students are to be reported in only 1 category per school as applicable
Attendance

15. Reporting Habitually Truancy Example
1 count of Truancy: 4 or more Days in one calendar month
Unexcused Absences for Sally in March. (Total Unexcused Absences in the School year is less than 10)
Attendance

16. Reporting Habitually Truancy Example
Month
# Unexcused Absences for Shirley
Aug
Sept 1
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
March 2
April
May 4
TOTAL 10
1 count of Truancy: Met Both Conditions
Attendance

17. Chronically Absent Definition
The unduplicated count of students absent 10% or more of the days enrolled in the public school year during the school year. A student is absent if he or she is not physically on school grounds and is not participating in instruction or instruction –related activities at an approved off-grounds location for the school day. Chronically absent students include students who are absent for any reason (e.g., illness, suspension, the need to care for a family member), regardless of whether absences are excused or unexcused. This count would include students in grades K-12.
Attendance

18. Examples of Calculating Chronically Absent Status
Student
# Days Possible (enrolled)
# Days Attended
# Days Excused Absent
# Days Unexcused Absent
Total Days Absent
Total Days Absent/ Days Possible
Chronically Absent?
Alligator
176
135 24 17 41
23.30% Y
Bear
123
111 9 3 12
9.76% N
Cat 54 44 10
18.52%
Dog
118
117 1
0.85%
Elephant 97 92 2 5
5.15%
Frog
145
101 38 6
30.34%
Giraffe
167
128 33 39
23.35%
Horse
175
168 4 7
4.00%
Iguana
177
164 11 13
7.34%
Attendance

19. Attendance Reports Available in Cognos
Attendance and Truancy Data
Attendance and Truancy Rates by School
Habitually Truant Student Counts by School
Number of Students with Chronic Absenteeism by School (NEW)
Average Daily Attendance (ADA) by School (NEW)
Calculated by taking Total Number of Days Attended divided by Length of School Year
Attendance by Race/Ethnicity (NEW)
Provides same data as Attendance and Truancy Data Report; including the Race/Ethnicity and Gender of the students by School
Attendance

20. Reporting Attendance Data for Online Schools

21. Overview
ALL online schools are required to report accurate student attendance and truancy data
Every online school should have consistent, authorizer-approved participation/attendance and truancy policies and procedures that are communicated to parents, students, and teachers

22. Methods utilized
Onsite attendance at a physical location (sometimes combined with online logins)
Coursework completion (daily or weekly requirements)
Daily student login
Attendance hours entered by parent/learning coach that matches progress and work completed

23. Methods for Tracking Attendance
Some different methods that may be used for recording attendance, depending on the school model:
Minimum Login Time Requirements
Specific Task Completion for a Give Time Period
Minimum Lesson/Unit Completion Requirements
Maybe change to “Some methods”

24. 1) Minimum Login Time Requirements
Establish a minimum amount of time that must be spent logged in to coursework per day or week
Simplest option- most similar to attendance tracking at a brick-and-mortar school
May be entered into an SIS on a daily basis
Does not allow for flexibility for students unable to meet minimum number of hours or account for work completed offline

25. 1) Minimum Login Time Requirements EXAMPLE
Online School A: 180 days in calendar schedule determines students must log in at least 20 hours/week, which would be 4 hours per day
Calculating Total Days Possible:
Based on Student Enrollment
Example: 300 students enrolled; 300*180 = 54,000 days possible
Calculating # Days Attended:
By week for each student, then summed for school
Example: Student “Alfa” completes 16 hours in week 1; this equates to 5*(16/20) = 4 days in attendance and 1 day absent (either excused or unexcused depending on school policy) for week 1.

26. 2) Specific Task Completion for a Given Time Period
Mandating students complete a series of regularly scheduled tasks on a daily or weekly basis
If the student completes all the required tasks during the set time, they are in attendance
If the student does not complete all tasks, then they are not in attendance or partially in attendance
Tasks may include, but not limited to:
Contacting the teacher via phone or
Participating in discussion thread
Attending virtual tutoring session/webinar
Submitting specific assignment

27. 2) Specific Task Completion for a Given Time Period EXAMPLE
Online School B determines student must participate in the following:
Discussion Thread (20%)
Respond to teacher s/phone calls (25%)
Attend synchronous class session (25%)
Submit homework assignments by the end of the week (30%)
Each task is weighted as indicated
Student “Bravo” did all except for attend the class session in Week 1. For a 5 day/week schedule:
5*( ) = 3.75 days attended for week 1
1.25 days absent (excused or unexcused)

28. 3) Minimum Lesson/Unit Completion Requirements
Provides most flexibility
Assignments completed become the evidence the student was in attendance
If no work is produced, then the student is considered absent
If all work is produced, the student is considered in attendance
Timeline must be established for completion of work

29. 3) Minimum Lesson/Unit Completion Requirements EXAMPLE
Online School C determines a student must complete 20 lessons per week (4/day) for 100% attendance
Calculation similar to hours per week requirement
Student “Charlie” completes 18 lessons in Week 1. Calculating Days Attended would equal to
5*(18/20) = 4.5 days attended and
0.5 days absent for week 1

30. Implementation
There is flexibility in choosing which method will be utilized by each school
Weekly timeline is recommended to capture required data:
Habitually Truant - 4 days in one month
Habitually Truant - 10 days in the school year
Habitually Truant – both conditions
Once method and criteria is determined, the online school and authorizer must determine how to quantify the attendance so that it may be reported to CDE within the SDA collection

31. Reporting Attendance
Regardless of internal methods, the following metrics must be calculated and reported for each school by student demographics:
Total Days Attended
Total Days Excused
Total Days Unexcused
Total Days Possible Attendance
Number of students habitually truant four or more days in a month
Number of students habitually truant ten or more days in a school year
Number of students habitually truant for both conditions listed above
Number of Students with Chronic Absenteeism

32. Available Resources

33. Additional Resources
Calculating Attendance in Online Schools SDA Business Rule Additional Guidance
SDA Frequently Asked Questions SDA Process Document 
Behavior Statutes and Clarifications 
Guide for Determining Most Serious Incidents
Summary of Updates 
Summary of Updates 
School Discipline and Attendance Review of Updates (PPTX) 

34. Contact Information
Annette Severson
(303)